DSLR Newbie in need of help (Olympus E510)

There is an Olympus SLR forum here and they can give you a lot more detailed advice.

You are right about the manual focus and the aperture ring.

While it's an older DSLR and Olympus no longer develop lenses for that mount, it's a perfectly good good camera. In some ways it's better than others from the same period. It has sensor shift stabilization ( rather useful with older manual lenses ! ) and it has some neat features hidden away in the menus.

One thing to note when looking for used lenses for the E-510 : the mount is called the "4/3 mount" and is not the same as the newer "micro 4/3" mount ( sometimes written m43 ).

Lenses for the micro 4/3 mount simply will not work with the E-510, but lenses from the 4/3 mount can be used with a fully automatic adapter on the micro 4/3 system.

Excellent, thanks for your help. So, it means that the only thing I can really control with these lenses is shutter speed and ISO, and the different modes/scenes on the camera basically won't work unless I get a compatible lens?

Unfortunately Olympus dropped completely the dSLR market. You can find used lenses for 4/3 mount. One of my favorite would be Zuiko 12-60 mm.

Take care that there are also micro 4/3 mount lenses around that are not compatible with your body. Good luck!

RAMartinezR said:

So, it means that the only thing I can really control with these lenses is shutter speed and ISO

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Well you can still control aperture with the aperture ring ( and that used to be the way it was done all the time ! ). Having an aperture ring is an advantage in my view, but if you're not used to them they do seem strange.

In fact you have more direct physical control of those lenses than with the "native" 4/3 lenses, which are all "fly by wire" - even when you turn the focus ring on a micro 4/3 lens you are actually requesting the camera and lens to do something rather than doing something.

Also those old lenses ( and some of these old lenses are very good ) will be usable on many other systems via simple adapters.

Don't feel you've been short changed with those lenses.

RAMartinezR said:

, and the different modes/scenes on the camera basically won't work unless I get a compatible lens?

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Well I'd suggest you try them, but really all the scene modes are variations on Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority and you'll find that you don't need scene modes at all.

I would also recommend the 12-60 Olympus Zuiko lens, not because I have it, but because it is a really useful range, it works with your camera and it is optically good - at least according to DPR.

With that lens you have the most used focal lengths covered and you can use the many features of your camera. As Olympus seems to be abandoning the four thirds format in favour of micro four thirds, there are quite many used ones for sale, which could be an advantage for you. It was never a cheap lens, but given the market situation, it should be accessible now.

Opinions on the merits of manual shooting differ, but using manual lenses on an automatic camera somewhat defies the purpose IMHO. I don't think going manual in itself creates better photographs, but of course it forces you to learn and perhaps better understand some things the computer would otherwise do for you.

Good luck and remember to have fun.

darklamp said:

darklamp said:

So, it means that the only thing I can really control with these lenses is shutter speed and ISO

Click to expand...

Well you can still control aperture with the aperture ring ( and that used to be the way it was done all the time ! ). Having an aperture ring is an advantage in my view, but if you're not used to them they do seem strange.

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A seasoned photographer who was used to not having all this automatic stuff (and can you trust it anyway???) will feel better, but beginners and amateurs will look to the manual and find no answers.

darklamp said:

In fact you have more direct physical control of those lenses than with the "native" 4/3 lenses, which are all "fly by wire" - even when you turn the focus ring on a micro 4/3 lens you are actually requesting the camera and lens to do something rather than doing something.

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Not so much different from when you press the shutter button. Potato potato.

darklamp said:

Also those old lenses ( and some of these old lenses are very good

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... and some aren't ...

darklamp said:

) will be usable on many other systems via simple adapters.

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... and still be manual lenses.

darklamp said:

Don't feel you've been short changed with those lenses.

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That very much depends on the price, IMHO. To release the full potential of the camera, you will need a compatible lens.

darklamp said:

darklamp said:

, and the different modes/scenes on the camera basically won't work unless I get a compatible lens?

Click to expand...

Well I'd suggest you try them, but really all the scene modes are variations on Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority and you'll find that you don't need scene modes at all.

Click to expand...

I don't know how your camera reacts to manual aperture lenses in the different modes. The Olympus forum would be the place to ask. Aperture priority mode could work as it sets ISO and shutter speed according to a fixed aperture.

Scene modes is a way to tell the camera how it should prioritise the compromises included in setting exposure. Learning about exposure will make it easier for you to expose manually and to understand what the scene modes does, but if you are not an experienced photographer, scene modes can be of help.

I think that nostalgia for the manual past is acceptable to those who master the craft of manual photography, but IMHO automation serves a purpose and frees the photgrapher's mind from calculations which is just as well made by a computer, leaving room for more deliberate composing and creativity. But it is just an opinion, worth no more or no less than others'.